It's A Small World
by Kaatttiiee
Summary: Jenna of Varrock is awakened one day by the abnormal silence. The whole of Varrock is quiet. After going on a walk around the place, she discovers that all the people are gone. Jenna finds a young man to go on a trek with around Gielinor. Will they find out what happened to the people? Full summary inside. If you are into romance/adventure, please read and review if you like it! :)
1. Chapter 1 - A Quiet Morning in Varrock

**A Runescape romance/adventure fanfiction of a man and woman who go on a journey around Gielinor after discovering that all the people in towns have fled.**

**Full Summary: **_Jenna, owner of the clothing shop in Varrock, is awakened one day by the abnormal silence. After sensing something unusual, she opens her door. The whole of Varrock is quiet. After going on a walk around the place, she discovers that all the people have disappeared, including her own mother. When Jenna goes on a trek and finds a lovely young man to team with, they both become determined to find the rest of the people. Will they both make it out alive and find out what happened to Gielinor?_

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**CHAPTER ONE**

I wake up. The silence is like thunder. What normally wakes me is the sound of bells at 6:00am as all the residents of Varrock awake and the shops begin to open. The sound of children running around Varrock Square just below me. The sound of the water splashing in the fountain. This morning, nothing is to be heard. Nothing but the calm breeze blowing gently through my window, the curtains swaying. I look over to the clock on the wall. 6:38am. Something is definitely wrong. Either my sleeping pills kept me sleeping for too long, or they made me sleep through whatever may have happened. It's hard for anything to wake me when I'm so deeply asleep. I could sleep through a fire outside.

I change out of my night clothes and put on a singlet and leggings. I put on my Rune armour and take my sword.

I climb down the ladder and rub my eyes. This can't be real. Why are all the people gone, and why am I the only one left here? I begin thinking that it's all this weird dream, but after pinching myself several times, I'm pretty sure this is real life.

I go downstairs and find my mother's knitting sticks on her rocking chair, with a material half-knitted with all sorts of wonderful patterns. I sigh. Whatever the issue was to leave this town so empty, couldn't my own mother wake me up and take me with the rest of the crowd? I begin feeling anger towards her for doing this to me.

I walk outside into Varrock Square. "Maybe I could do a bit of exploring around Gielinor" I think to myself. I could go on a trek to Lumbridge and see if anyone is left there as well. Maybe all the people of Varrock have gone to Lumbridge. I wouldn't mind exploring. I know all the safe routes to each and every city and town around the continent. Plus, I have a Rune Two-handed Sword. It may not be the best kind out there, but if I come across anything trying to hurt me, my sword will have to do.

The fountain and its water is the purest in Runescape. I drink until I feel full of energy again, and fill my empty water bottle. Unsheathing my sword carefully, I feel like I'm ready to begin my trek.

I walk down the empty stone path. Past the general store, past the sword shop, and past the good old Blue Moon Inn. It's sad seeing it so empty when usually it's filled with so much life and laughter. The jazzy music used to blast all the way down the street. I'd hear it from my own shop and smile at how lovely it was. I suddenly remember all the pub locals who I'd always see when passing by. Mavis Grey, Clive Dresdon, Burt McKrakon... Even they fled along with the crowd.

I take a step inside the open door and go over to the bar. It feels strange sitting on the bar stool where I'd normally sit whenever I'd stop by for a beer. There are empty beer glasses on the tables. Some are smashed into pieces on the floor. I sigh and walk back outside. Even the spot where Charlie the Tramp - as he is known to all the Varrock residents - is gone. I still have some hope left in me though. Surely these people all went to one location. I mean I'm still left here for some reason.

I exit through Varrock's main entrance and continue my trek across Gielinor.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Lonely Old Man

**CHAPTER TWO**

The sheep are still wandering around the abandoned farm just on the outside of Southern Varrock. All of them look alive and well. I pass all the farms; the wheat, the potatoes. This is where I realise I'm in Lumbridge now. The outskirts of Lumbridge have many farms and animals. I remember my first days as a child. My father would take me to the cows where I would train my Attack and Strength. They were easy kills as I got older and stronger.

I pass the chicken coop where I decide to stop and go inside the small farmhouse. I open the door to it where I find a farmer curled up in a corner, shivering.

"Uhh... sir?" I ask, uncertain, holding my sword in case he suddenly attacks.

"No! You must go! Leave now, while you can!" he yells.

"What happened?" I ask. "I was left alone in Varrock, I don't know anything of what's going on-"

"Leave... now..." he says, out of breath.

I decide to leave him there. "This guy is no help," I wonder. He could have been a major help to me if he actually spoke up instead of shivering in a corner. Whatever. He can do that. I'll have to find my own way to survive on my own and gather as much information as possible.

I continue walking down the dirt path where I stop at a small house just on the corner, before the bridge leading to Lumbridge Castle. "Maybe there's still some people in here," I think to myself. I knock on the door. No answer. I knock again. Still no answer. I bust open the door and find that the room is empty. It looks messy though. The tables haven't been cleaned and it seems as though breakfast was eaten in a rush. I walk upstairs where there's two empty beds and clothes and items all over the floor. Looks as if somebody was in a rush to leave... but where to? I wonder.

I leave the house, shaking my head. I cross the bridge leading to the castle but decide to look around the town first. To my left is a path leading to the Lumbridge church. I walk inside the church and take a seat on one of the benches. The candles on the cabinets in the corner are still burning. I take some time to pray to the God I believe in – Saradomin.

"Saradomin, let all the people be safe. Guide me to their whereabouts. I can't do this alone," I tell him, though deep inside I know He is looking down on me, saying "Yes Jenna, you can do this." Going without company will eventually lead one to going crazy. All I can do is hope and pray.

There's two small, joined houses just across the Church. Assuming they are empty, too, I don't bother looking inside.

I choose not to go in the direction of the swamp. Basically no one lives there, except possibly that one man who lives in a shack. I don't know how he lives in such a place. I wonder if he's still there, hiding in his shack, or if he's gone along with the rest of the town. Maybe it's worth the time to go over and look. The swamp is nothing dangerous really, it's just dark and feels spooky when you are wandering through for the first time as an adventurer.

I find the lonely wooden house and knock. "Hello? Is anybody home?"

To my surprise the door creaks open. "Oh, a stranger," the man says. "Come on in for a chat." And so I do. I need to find out what happened to everybody.

"Sir," I say, taking a seat on a stool. "I was purely here to ask you about the sudden disappearance of all the residents in Varrock and Lumbridge and probably other towns, as far as I know."

The man looks confused. "Disappearance? Why, I've never heard of such a thing happening to Gielinor. I've been sitting here cosy in my house. I did hear some ruckus over in town, but you see I live in the swamp of Lumbridge and only ever visit the town's shops when I'm in need of a specific item."

"And you didn't bother to go over and see what this commotion was about?" I ask.

"Why should it matter to me? I'm just a lonely old man living in a lonely house in a lonely swamp."

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to head off, then," I say sadly.

"Wait," the old man stops me. "What do you mean by the whole of Gielinor disappearing?"

I sigh and tell him the whole story. The story of how I woke up this morning surrounded by silence. How I was left alone in my house with even my mother gone. I explain that it was possible the sleeping pills but when I came to think about it, no sleeping pills could ever be so effective. "And so I'm exploring all the towns and areas I come across in hopes of finding these people. Though I cannot figure out where these people would have headed."

The old man listens carefully. "Strange. Very strange. Well, I'm truly disappointed I can't help you with this, but I do wish you the best on your journey. Stay safe."

"I'll cope," I say reassuringly. "Thank you, sir." And I continue my journey, heading to Draynor Village next.


	3. Chapter 3 - Blue Party Hat

**CHAPTER THREE**

I remember when I was little my father told me about Draynor Village. He made it sound so spooky, which made me afraid to ever go there, though I knew he was only kidding. Even now I still feel a strange feeling whenever I'm around that village. It's probably just the darkness and the fact that a vampire called Count Victor Draynor lives in a coffin in a creepy manor not too far from the village. Something like that.

I take the path leading towards Draynor Village and eventually the bright blue sky turns dark. This tells me I'm almost there. Draynor Village is basically always dark. Every time I've been there, the sun never came out. It's always been quite gloomy. Even the people seemed gloomy.

Suddenly I feel really hopeful that maybe, just maybe, there could be someone down here. The town is secluded from the others and it's pretty dark. There's always someone practising their woodcutting skills on the willows along the shore, or the salespeople selling seeds, wines or cakes at the market stalls. Usually someone was up to no good, stealing from the stalls when the people behind them weren't looking. I guess it was mainly the poor people, stealing bread for their families or seeds to grow on their farms. The guards usually caught these thieves though.

The willow trees by the shore eventually show up in the horizon. I can't see well because of the dark blue fog.

When I get to Draynor Village I sneak around the back of the bank to make sure I'm not seen by anyone who could still be here. I'm really starting to doubt that there is anyone left, though. I've come across a useless farmer who was too scared to speak and, a kind but, again, useless old man who didn't know anything about what was going on. It felt nice to know that at least some people were still alive though. I'm not sure what happened to the others.

I walk to the door of the house right across the bank where the Wise Old Man lives. Surely he's got to be here! I knock and immediately hide inside the bank when I see that there is somebody hanging around the market stalls. They haven't noticed me yet. I peek out from behind the doorway and take a closer look at this person. From what I can see, it's a young man - maybe my age - taking everything he can from the stalls. He's in a hurry. He's wearing Dragon armour, so I'm guessing he is quite wealthy. He doesn't seem to be holding a weapon. He doesn't look that dangerous, either. "Just a young man taking what he can while the whole world goes to hell," I mutter under my breath. I see the man twitch thinking he heard something. I quickly move behind the door so my head isn't sticking out of it. He looks around very carefully and when he thinks he's alone, he continues raiding the stalls.

I slowly get up and unsheathe my sword. Carefully I approach the young man with my sword in both hands. He has his back to me as he picks out seeds from the seed stall. I take a few more steps until I'm hiding behind the Toy Stall where Diango would usually stand, selling toys or holiday event items. Now I can see them man better. He appears to have a big build. He has wide shoulders and strong arms by the looks of it. I can't see his face though.

I creep up a little bit more until I'm just behind him, still holding my sword. He still has not noticed me. I surprise him. "What are you doing?"

The man instantly turns around and jumps back, nearly dropping all the seeds he has in his hands. He has fear in his eyes. "No! Please don't hurt-" he pauses when he realises that I'm not going to hurt him. "Oh. Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" I ask, appearing defensive as I hold my sword up in case the man attacks. I take in his facial features: wide hazel eyes, narrow nose, thin top lip, straight teeth, and a bit of a stubble. His messy chocolate brown hair is falling over his left eye.

The man chuckles and smiles crookedly. "Well, I'm just a man taking all I can from these stalls seeing as everybody has left."

I remain serious and assertive. "Do you know anything about the sudden disappearance of all these people?"

The man sighs. "First of all, please, put away your sword. I'm not going to attack. You're making me feel intimidated." I smile shyly so he doesn't see. "Thank you," he says with another chuckle. "Now, what brings you here?" I tell the man the same story I told everyone else. "Whoa, just like me," he says.

"Really?" I ask in disbelief. "So, you went to sleep, woke up to find that the whole town was completely silent, found that none of your family were home and realised they left you here alone?"

"Uh-huh," he says. "I took sleeping pills the night before though. Well, they're not really pills. It's just this mix of herbs which helps me get to sleep. I take them every night."

"Me, too," I admit. "I can't figure out if that's what made me sleep through whatever happened, though. Normally they're not this strong." I pause. "So you have absolutely no idea what has happened?"

"No. I'm sorry I can't help you and give you the information you need which may have helped you find your mother. I live here on my own. The rest of my family live in Ardougne, so I was just preparing to go visit them to see if they're okay." The man sighs. "Was it only in Varrock this has happened?"

"No. I walked to Lumbridge and saw that the same thing happened there. I was planning on checking around all the towns to see if anyone else was left at all. I came to Draynor expecting to find no one but a young man happened to be here, and now I think I'll head off to Edgeville, then Falador."

"Can I join you?" he asks.

I think about it. I don't even know this man but he seems innocent already. What harm can a bit of company do? "Sure."

"Quick. Take some bread from that stall over there, and make sure you also take wine. When we find a well, we'll get water, but for now wine is the only thing." The man pauses. "And uhh," he tones his voice down. "If you want, you can find some loot in the bank. No one's there to catch you. Here, take this party hat. I took two." He holds out a blue party hat to me, smiling with a chuckle. I laugh.

"I don't think now's a good time for a party." We both laugh.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Haunted Mansion

**CHAPTER FOUR**

We walk past the herd of pigs just next to the markets.

"You never told me your name," the man says.

"It's Jenna," I say.

"That's a nice name," he says. I smile.

"Thanks, I guess." We keep walking in silence. "What's yours?"

"Laurent." He turns back to Draynor Village. "I want to show you my house first. Before I leave it for awhile." I follow Laurent through a shortcut to all the houses in Draynor. There's not many of them. He leads me to this little area where there's five houses around, forming a little square with a garden in the middle. He opens the door to a double-storey house. It's a simple house made for a family of two, maximum. There's a blue rug on the ground. Laurent takes a few more things from the food larder and heads upstairs. I follow behind.

Upstairs there's a double bed with blue sheets. There's the same rug as the one on the first floor. "You like the colour blue, huh," I say with a laugh. I walk over to the bookshelf and search the books. Nothing catches my eye so I pick out any random book. I mean, what if I get bored on the way and decide to read?

"It's kind of just there for aesthetics," Laurent explains. I can tell from the way the tops of the books are dusty.

"I see."

He searches his drawers for clothes. "You got enough clothes for the journey?" A journey? I like journeys. Adventuring has always been fun for me, I just never really had the time since I run a clothing shop for most of the day.

"Yeah," I say. "I own a clothing shop with my mother. We can always return there if you need any more clothes. I'll give 'em to you for free."

"That one in Varrock on the corner of Varrock Square?" Laurent raises one eyebrow. I nod. "I swear I've seen you before."

I laugh. "I think most people know me, Laurent. It's the main one around here. I meet hundreds of people a day. That's why I was so surprised when I woke up and there was nobody at the door, waiting."

"Yeah," he says. "It wasn't too long ago, either. You probably just didn't pay attention because I was a stranger. I definitely know you though."

"Well, _now_ you do, since we are no longer strangers." I stick my tongue out. He laughs.

"You ready?" he asks.

"Yeah."

"Cool. Let's go." We leave the house. Laurent locks the door behind him. We head off, going north to get to Edgeville. We walk through this place between the Falador wall and the Draynor Manor, where the only vegetation are dead trees. There's also a few giant spiders here and there.

"You scared of spiders?" Laurent asks, concentrating on one of them.

"I guess. Unless they're harmless," I explain. "I think these ones are." I pause. "Have you ever been inside that creepy mansion?"

"What, Draynor Manor?" I nod. "I haven't been inside it, but I remember playing around it with my friend when I was a kid. We'd go here on Halloween sometimes. It was spooky of course. I don't think anyone even lives there anymore."

"Anymore?" I ask. "I mean I know about that vampire Count Victor Draynor Drakan. He died ages ago. Apparently a brave adventurer had to go on a quest to his manor and kill him."

"Yeah... I know about that." Laurent pauses. "I don't believe it though."

"Believe what?"

"Well, that he died and all that stuff."

"Why not?" I ask.

Laurent takes a deep breath. "Because about ten years ago when I went here with that friend, we threw pebbles at the windows and outside walls to see who would come out. It was Halloween and we were just having a bit of fun, you know? It wasn't harmful. They were only pebbles. Anyway, we were laughing and everything, but we quickly stopped laughing when we heard a strange noise." Laurent stops.

"What was it like?"

"I dunno," he says. "It was like... an angry whisper. A hiss. It didn't sound like it was coming from a single voice, either. It was like, ten people whispering, but they all had the same voice. That's when we screamed and ran all the way back to the village. I haven't came back here since."

"Scary..." I say. "We're walking past it right now. Are you still scared?"

"Nope," he says, trying to sound tough. "Ten years later I'm a nineteen-year-old grown man. Psh, why should I be scared?" I punch him playfully in the shoulder.

"Yes you are! I bet you're lying. Hey, I'm gonna throw a pebble at the house. What's gonna happen from it? _Nothing_," I say, joking with him.

"No, no, no! Jenna, no. Stop." Laurent fights me as I grab a pebble off the ground and aim at the house.

"Here goes," I say. I throw the pebble. It bounces off the crackly painted wall and falls into one of the bushes below. There's silence. "Ha! And you said there were noises or some-" my voice is cut off when I hear a strange sound. It's exactly like Laurent had described: ten voices hissing at you furiously. Laurent and I run all the way until we're behind the creepy mansion. Past the dead trees, past the spiders, and past that metal fence with the spikes at the top. I keep running until I reach the wooden fence of Barbarian Village. I trip over a rock and fall into a pit in the grass. Laurent falls in with me. We laugh and laugh for what seems like ages.

"And you didn't believe me!" Laurent laughs.

"I am never going back there again," I say in between laughs.


End file.
